


Christmas Traditions

by Orithain, Rina9294



Series: Original shifter series [14]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Holidays, Sex in shifted form(s), Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-09-06 07:04:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8739421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orithain/pseuds/Orithain, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rina9294/pseuds/Rina9294
Summary: Sam wonders if he'll survive Christmas with Joe's family. Direct sequel to "A Stranger in Town" and "Bringing Him Home to Mother".





	

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted December 2004.

Huge, fluffy flakes of snow filled the air, swirling romantically in the December wind. Each tiny crystal reflected the moonlight, making the night appear almost light, though completely impenetrable.

Watching through the huge picture window in the living room of the house he shared with his mate Joe San Gabriel, Sam Tallfeather was glad he was inside with the roaring fire rather than out in the near white-out conditions. He’d passed many a night traveling through similar storms or holed up in out-of-the-way places, but that was a thing of the past.

The ebony gaze turned to the tall blond reading the paper in the other corner of the comfortable window seat, and the thin lips curved in a fond smile. Already naked, as they so often were when alone at home, there was nothing to stop Sam from shifting when the urge struck, and a moment later a massive white Bengal tiger padded across the cushions and stretched out next to Joe, chin on Joe’s thigh as Sam’s deep, rumbling purr began to rock them both.

"Getting chilly, Tiger?" Joe San Gabriel chuckled, digging his fingers into the thick fur and massaging his shoulder blades. "Or just comfy?"

Sam’s purr grew louder, and he rubbed his cheek on Joe, the big blue eyes fixed on the man while one paw rose to knead Joe’s leg.

Joe laughed louder. "Or getting horny?"

The long, raspy tongue appeared and dragged over Joe’s soft cock, amusement clear in the tiger’s eyes.

"Yow! Careful there or there won’t be anything to play with!" Joe exclaimed, scooting back and glowering down at Sam. "And I don’t want a plastic strap on for Christmas if you sand this one off!"

Sam made a sound that could only be described as laughter, and he licked a stripe up Joe’s thigh, worming closer again to rub the soft fur of his cheek on Joe’s groin.

Now it was Joe’s turn to purr, and he rubbed his hand over Sam’s fur. "You know what I want to do today?"

Sam chuffed inquisitively even though he was fairly certain what Joe had in mind.

Joe grinned and looked down into the tiger’s blue eyes. "Make cookies."

Sam shifted and reared up onto his knees, the black eyes wide with disbelief. "I’m half in your lap, we’re naked, and you want to bake cookies?"

"It’s Christmas!" Joe protested. "We need cookies!"

" _Now_?!"

"Well, maybe not _now_ but before tomorrow."

"We can do that. Though we really to talk about your priorities. The man you supposedly love _should_ come before cookies," Sam laughed, still kneeling beside him.

Joe snickered and leaned over to kiss Sam. "Well, normally you do, but these are _Christmas_ cookies."

"You’ve been spending too much time with Pushy," Sam snorted, using his favorite nickname for Joe’s youngest but extremely dominant brother. "And just wait till the next time _you_ want to."

"You’ll roll over and beg just like you always do."

Sam’s eyebrows rose. "Are you complaining?" He eyed the blond challengingly.

Joe laughed and kissed Sam again, running a hand over the medicine wheel tattoo on his chest. "Not in this lifetime!"

"Good answer." Sam moved closer, moving to straddle Joe’s lap, their filling cocks pressed together between them. "So how ‘bout you do me and then we do the cookies?" he invited.

"Mmm, there’s an idea," Joe murmured, resting his hands on Sam’s waist and pulling him closer.

"Now that’s more the reaction I was looking for," Sam said with satisfaction, rocking against Joe, his hands on the blond’s shoulders for balance.

"And this is the reaction _I_ like," Joe rasped, letting go of Sam with one hand to grab one of the multitude of bottles of lube they kept around the house. "Wanna get yourself ready?"

Sam purred, sounding more like his tiger form than his human. The dark eyes remained fixed on Joe’s face, watching Joe’s reactions to what he was doing, as Sam reached back with a slick finger and pressed it against his hole. He pushed, the tip sliding inside him, and he gasped at the faint burn, his cock hardening more.

"More," Joe whispered, knowing Sam liked him to take command every so often. He reached up and fisted a hand in his mate’s black hair, pulling his head back so that he could lick Sam’s neck.

A soft moan escaped Sam, and he humped the air as he added a second finger, stretching himself. "Want you," he rasped, staring into Joe’s blue eyes and seeing the heat reflected back at him.

"Always yours," Joe growled, drawing Sam’s hand away and pressing his cock against Sam’s entrance, then pulling the other man down onto him.

"Joe!" Sam shuddered and groaned, body tensing with the initial entry and slowly relaxing as he adapted. "God yes, like that," he panted, hands again on Joe’s shoulders as he slowly raised himself and sank back down until he couldn’t go any lower.

"On the first day of Christmas, my mate he gave to me, a reaming in the window seat," Joe sang on key as he arched up into Sam’s ass.

Sam nearly choked as he laughed and moaned simultaneously, "Asshole," he choked out, biting at Joe’s lower lip.

"That’s what I’m in," Joe answered cheerfully.

Sam groaned. "If I didn’t love you, I’d have to kill you." He twisted in Joe’s grasp, his hips rising and falling more rapidly as he fucked himself on his mate.

"But you love me, and you love me fucking you even more," Joe laughed, thrusting up into Sam.

"Lucky for you," Sam retorted, contemplating shifting but not wanting to injure Joe, which was likely in the position they were in. "So fuck me properly so I don’t forget it."

Joe stood, using his enhanced shifter muscles to keep Sam from falling, and laid his mate on the braided rag rug in front of the fireplace, purring as the golden light painted patterns on Sam’s skin.

"Beautiful," Sam murmured, admiring the play of light on Joe as the somewhat huskier man covered him. His arms twined around Joe’s shoulders, holding tightly. "Love you."

"Love you too. It’s our second Christmas together, you know?" As Joe spoke, he rocked back and forth onto the other man.

"I did notice that, yes," Sam said, trying to keep his voice even as Joe fucked him. "I remember every holiday with your crazy family."

"The Fourth of July was memorable," Joe agreed, remembering the fireworks.

"Could we discuss this later?" Sam demanded rather wildly, his heels digging into Joe’s buttocks as he tried to pull the blond deeper into him.

"Good idea," Joe rasped, rocking upward and sliding a hand between them to circle Sam’s cock.

Crying out, Sam pulled Joe even closer, his arms and legs tightening as they moved more rapidly. "Got this recipe right," he panted, grinning.

"You and me equals the perfect recipe," Joe purred, rolling Sam to his back and shifting on top of him so that a bobcat was suddenly fucking him.

Sam cried out sharply, his fingers delving into the thick fur of Joe’s ruff and combing through the soft strands. He could feel his cock sliding through Joe’s silky belly fur with every stroke, and he yelled Joe’s name. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to hold out much longer.

Joe growled and nuzzled Sam’s throat, continuing to drive into his body, his thick fur rubbing against Sam’s tanned, smooth skin.

The continual rubbing of the fur against his hypersensitive shaft soon had Sam wailing his pleasure as he came, his ass clamping down on the erection driving into him.

Joe shifted back to human form while Sam was still spasming under him, and he kissed the taller man hungrily. "Love you," he gasped, as he, too, began to come, hooking Sam’s legs over his arms and thrusting deeper.

"Love you too," Sam whispered, raising his head to kiss Joe as he felt his mate explode inside him. He clung to Joe, staring up and reveling in the expression of ecstasy that twisted Joe’s face.

Blue eyes half-closed in pleasure, Joe relaxed on top of Sam and stroked his dark hair. "Feeling better?"

"Much," Sam purred, his legs falling flat as he got comfortable. "That’s the best part of having a mate. Sex whenever we want it."

"And cookies," Joe chuckled.

"If you don’t get over this cookie obsession, you’re going to get fat," Sam warned.

"It’s Christmas; we need cookies or Mari and Ami will pout at us," Joe warned.

"Oh great, give the kids a sugar high. Tell me again why I didn’t go visit my family?"

"Because you have even more siblings than I do, and at least most of mine are busy with their own mates."

"Good point. So why didn’t we run away together to someplace like a nice Caribbean island?" Sam sighed, pulling Joe closer.

"Because we don’t want _my_ family gutting us."

"Your family’s insane," Sam grumbled. "You’re lucky I’m willing to infuse a little sanity."

"More like you were infused with insanity, Tiger."

"Well, yes, I’m continually infused with you. But you’re worth a little insanity," Sam snickered.

Joe growled and rolled off Sam to lie on his back, stretching. "Asshole."

"Nope, that’s you. Already told you that."

"Nah, that’s what I was in, or are you going to argue with me about that?"

"Yes, Joe, you’re right, Joe, whatever you say, Joe." Sam rolled his eyes.

Joe grinned and turned onto his side to kiss Sam. "Good, Tiger, now let’s make some cookies."

"You have a cookie fetish," Sam announced as he rolled to his feet, hands on his hips as he stared down at his still recumbent mate. "I’ll have to work on changing that."

"You don’t like the idea of me licking leftover cookie dough off of you?"

Sam swallowed hard. "I may not have given this cookie making enough consideration. Tell me more," he suggested throatily.

Joe smirked and stood, stretching again, showing off his body. "Let’s find the recipes and the ingredients, and I will."

"I don’t believe we’re baking." Sam sighed. "We should probably get dressed first. I don’t want to burn my dick off."

"You’d better not; I have uses for it later!"

"Glad to hear it," Sam chuckled. "’Cause much as I love you fucking me, I’m not ready to become a permanent bottom boy. And I don’t want your dick burned off either."

Joe snickered and sauntered to the bedroom where he’d left his sweatpants earlier. "Call up to the house and tell them we’re doing this, okay?" he called. "Ami might want to come over."

Sam whimpered. "You know, I left home to get _away_ from raising kids," he pointed out as he followed Joe, admiring the view, to get his jeans. "Lucas is the one who really ought to spend more time with her."

Joe shrugged. "Luc was a baby himself when Jenny had her; he was more of a sperm donor than anything. Mom and Dad were her parents, and I like playing Uncle Joe—and don’t tell me you don’t like being Uncle Sam either."

"Okay, I won’t. I just think someday Pushy’s going to look around and realize that she’s all grown up and he missed it. He’ll regret it then if he’s the person I think he is." Sam shrugged. "And if you tell him I said that, you’ll be sleeping on the couch for a month!"

"What?" Joe squawked, staring at Sam. "When do I ever tell Luc anything you say? It only gets me thumped!"

"Just checking." Sam had to laugh at Joe’s reaction. "So go gather up the kiddies, and we’ll start this baking extravaganza."

Joe snorted. "Do you know where the recipes are?"

"Gee, maybe in the kitchen, in the Christmas cookbook?"

Joe groaned. "Fine, fine, I’ll head up to the house; you’d better hope Mom doesn’t draft me into helping trim the tree."

"If you’re not back in twenty minutes, I’ll mount a rescue. Heap big Indian brave, you know." Sam grinned.

"Mount a rescue, eh?" Joe grinned, grabbing a sweatshirt and pulling it on. "Not mount a San Gabriel?"

"In your mother’s kitchen? No! We’ll save that for after the kids go back home. It’ll be my reward for this evening’s efforts."

"Ahh, so you can lick the leftover batter off _me_ ," Joe answered, waggling his eyebrows and pulling on a pair of socks before heading back out to the living room to get his boots and parka. "When I get back, I want all the ingredients out on the counter!"

Sam snorted. "You sound like your brother!" he yelled after the departing blond, grumbling at the laughter he heard in response. "I’m so whipped," he muttered as he braided his hair, tying it back to keep it out of the way when they started cooking.

That done, he headed into the kitchen to find the recipe and begin setting out the ingredients, bowls and utensils they were going to need. Once everything was neatly laid out, he mixed up a batch of eggnog, keeping part of it aside without rum and brandy for the children, then went to sit in front of the fire while he waited.

~*~ 

"Uncle Sam!" A snow-covered five-year-old came in, followed by an equally snow-covered bobcat, who nudged her toward the fire and padded into the bedroom.

"Joe says we’re making cookies," a taller girl said, following the other two inside and pulling off a knitted cap to loosen a cloud of blonde hair around a heart-shaped face.

"Don’t get snow on the bed, or you’re sleeping in the puddle!" Sam yelled after Joe, hoping he wasn’t too late. He knew it was tempting to just shake it off, but he didn’t like sleeping in a wet spot, no matter what had caused it.

"Don’t I always?" Joe called, snickering when he heard Sam’s groan and the girls’ laughter.

"Mom said to get my butt over here," the older girl, Joe’s sister Mari, explained. "I think she and Dad are gonna get jiggy."

"Then maybe you won’t be the baby of the family next Christmas," Sam retorted, long since immune to shock at anything the San Gabriels might say.

"Works for me," Mari said philosophically as she helped her young niece out of her jacket and boots. "Then Dad won’t be growling at every guy or girl I look at!"

"Gran’pa doesn’t growl at me," Ami said, frowning.

"That’s because you don’t date, sweetie," Sam explained, hugging both girls. "And he only growls because he loves you, brat."

Mari rolled her eyes. "Dad thinks I’m a baby; I hate it!"

"That’s what you get for being the baby, just like Lucas is the runt," Joe chuckled from the bedroom.

"Hey, don’t compare Mari to Pushy!" Sam exclaimed as he scooped Ami up in his arms and carried her into the kitchen. "C’mon, master chef, this was your idea; come help us bake!"

Joe snorted as he pulled on sweatpants and a shirt. "I hope you got everything ready, Tiger, or we’ll have to wait for the butter to soften."

"I followed orders, sir," Sam retorted. "It’s all here, waiting for you. So get in here and let’s do this."

Joe snickered and winked at Mari. "See? Even the alpha guys can be brought down."

Ami frowned, looking at them all. "Who’s an alpha guy?"

"Uncle Joe’s being silly," Sam explained. "He’s talking about me."

Mari giggled and grabbed a mixing bowl. "I really need to tell Lucas and Rowan about this."

"Don’t you dare!" Joe growled while Ami giggled.

"No, I don’t think having them join us would help get these cookies baked," Sam agreed, knowing that the other couple would show up if they heard about that conversation.

Joe grabbed Ami and sat her on the counter while Sam and Mari added the ingredients to the bowl. "Want to spoon out the ingredients, sweetie?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed, waving the spoon in her hand around wildly.

Grinning, Sam ducked a swing that came a little too close to giving him a black eye. "In the bowl, Ami."

"And no eating until everything’s mixed," Joe added.

"After all, we want to have enough to make the cookies," Sam explained when he saw Ami’s crestfallen expression. He got her a glass of milk, then hopped up on the counter beside her. "So, what next?" he asked Joe.

"Mari, what’s next?" Joe asked of his younger sister, who was looking at the recipe card.

"Two cups of flour, three-quarters cup of sugar and one tablespoon of vanilla," she reported.

Sam handed the measuring cup to Ami and slid back down to the floor, wanting a little distance from what he knew was coming. "Okay, sweetie," he said to Ami, holding the flour canister securely, "two cups of this into the bowl, okay?"

"Okay!" the tiny blonde answered brightly, scooping up the flour in a puff of white and pouring it into the bowl. "What next?"

Going for simplicity, Sam handed her the one-quarter-cup measuring cup next and held up the sugar canister. "Three scoops of this sugar into the bowl."

"I like sugar!" she exclaimed, digging into the canister.

Mari covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud as she looked at her brother.

"Hey, Tiger, wanna get the vanilla next?" Joe asked, reaching for the baking pans.

"Sure, that’ll be my contribution to the cookies." Sam measured out the dark brown liquid and poured it into the bowl. "Are you going to mix for us, Mari?"

"It’s probably safer that way," she sighed, getting the whisk. "You two are dangerous."

Joe chuckled. "Not with cookie dough, Mari, only with each other."

Sam grinned. "I don’t think the girls need to hear about that, Joe."

Joe rolled his eyes and threw a plastic measuring cup at his mate while the two girls giggled.

Catching it, Sam set it neatly inside the dishwasher and gave Joe a look that was all heat and hunger. "Make the cookies."

~*~ 

"Don’t let Rowan and Lucas keep you out," Joe called as he watched Mari and Ami trudge through the snow to his younger brother’s house. He grinned at Mari’s wave, then looked over his shoulder at Sam and licked his lips. "Like the cookies, lover?"

"Very nice," Sam replied, pushing the front door closed once the girls reached the door and went inside. Never looking away from Joe, he slowly stripped off his clothes, and once naked, shifted, his white-and-black-striped tail lashing as he stared up at his mate.

Joe crooked a grin and began to drag off his own clothes. "Looking for some cream to go with them?"

Sam purred, padding closer to rub the soft fur on top of his head against Joe’s groin. His tail curled around Joe’s calf, the fluffier tip flicking against it, and he drew nearer until he was leaning against the blond’s legs.

"All yours, Tiger, but if you want me this way, let me get myself ready for you."

Sam huffed his agreement. As amusing as it had been to tease Joe about the way he’d been walking after the first time Sam shifted, Sam really didn’t want to hurt his mate. He padded into the bedroom, deciding he wanted to be in front of the fireplace there, tail lazily lashing the air as he listened for the sound of Joe following him.

Joe followed at a more leisurely pace, making sure the doors were locked and the oven off and closing the curtains—a sign to his family that they had better not intrude. Admiring the picture Sam made in front of the fireplace, he ran a hand along his lover’s thick fur and walked into the bathroom where he lubed and stretched himself.

Coming back out, Joe dropped to the braided rag rug beside Sam and kissed his nose, chuckling when Sam’s whiskers flicked in response. "All ready whenever you are."

Sam’s long tongue dragged over Joe, reddening his cheek before the massive tiger began ‘grooming’ his mate. Not surprisingly, he concentrated on Joe’s most sensitive parts, the raspy cat’s tongue drawing the already hard nipples into even tighter buds while Sam purred happily. He moved to sprawl over his lover, soft belly fur surrounding Joe’s cock while the vibrations of his purring sank deep into the prone man.

"God, I’m not going to be able to wear a shirt tomorrow," Joe groaned, rubbing up against Sam’s heavy body, his fingers digging into the thick white and black striped fur. "And Lucas will never let me hear the end of it."

Sam chuffed out a laugh, his eyes amused as he peered up at Joe’s face without stopping what he was doing. Clearly, he didn’t mind the thought at all.

"Laugh it up, furball," Joe growled, squirming to get his legs around Sam’s sleek sides and shivering when his tail lashed a bare foot.

If a tiger could smirk, that was what Sam was doing. He finally stopped lapping at the almost raw-looking nipple only to start rubbing his head over Joe’s torso, soft fur and wiry whiskers alternately teasing the sensitized skin.

Joe groaned and arched upward, his back bowing off the rug as he tried to hump against Sam’s body. "Do it, Sam. Now."

A soft roar rumbled from Sam’s throat, and he shifted down, his cock sliding along Joe’s crack until the head nudged the slick opening, making both of them gasp. His purr deepened as he pushed forward, sliding deep inside Joe.

Taking a deep breath as Sam stretched him wide, Joe closed his eyes, waiting until the pain subsided before opening them again. "Love having you in me," he rasped, letting go of Sam’s fur and grasping his knees, pulling them back and out to allow Sam to settle more fully against him, rubbing his slightly softened erection against his belly fur.

Sam purred his agreement, and he undulated slightly, intentionally rubbing his belly against Joe’s cock while remaining as still as possible inside him, giving Joe a chance to relax and his arousal to grow again. His tongue swiped over Joe’s jaw and cheek in apology for the unavoidable pain even though he knew Joe wanted this as much as Sam himself did when their positions were reversed.

"Mmm, better," Joe breathed, smiling lazily up at Sam and petting his sides. "So, you gonna move or what?"

Sam lazily undulated his hips, moving inside Joe, and he rubbed his cheek against the blond’s, his entire body vibrating with his pleasure. Soon his short thrusts weren’t enough for either of them, and he braced himself so he could push harder, drive deeper.

Joe groaned, twisting upward, wanting to keep his cock rubbing against Sam’s fur, then shuddered when Sam slammed into him again, and came, his fingers tangling in Sam’s ruff.

Sam roared, hunching into Joe as the spasms gripped his cock. His claws dug into the braided rug, and he screamed his pleasure as he came, the cry echoing through the house.

"Damn, Tiger..." Joe murmured, sighing in pleasure as he relaxed under the warm, heavy weight. "I think Christmas came early."

Sam purred, too content to shift back yet. He loved relaxing like this with Joe, and they had nowhere they had to be, so there was no reason to move.

"Now that you’re done, got any milk? We’re out, and Ro’s getting cranky," a voice called from the kitchen.

Joe groaned and hid his face against Sam’s broad chest.

Sam’s eyes widened in shock as he reared up, pulling out of Joe rather more abruptly than he’d intended. He snarled, his hackles rising, and he stalked toward the door, intent on letting Lucas know once and for all why people knocked before entering other people’s homes.

"Ow..." Joe muttered, wincing as he sat up and grabbed for a washcloth and some sweatpants. He limped into the kitchen, hoping to keep his lover from killing his brother.

"The milk’s in the fridge, Runt; could you not figure that out?"

"Oh, I knew that, but the audio show was intriguing," Lucas grinned.

Sam hissed at Lucas, his tail lashing as he stared unblinkingly at his prey.

"Oh, blow it out your stripes," Lucas snorted. "You don’t scare me."

Joe sighed and walked up beside Sam, stroking his back to calm him. "No bloodshed inside, babe, okay? It’s a bitch to get out of the wood."

Still growling, Sam slowly relaxed against Joe’s leg. Finally he chuffed out a heavy breath and shifted, straightening up beside Joe. "Don’t you have a home of your own?" he groused.

"Yeah, but no milk and the girls were chowing on those cookies you two made so..." Lucas shrugged and grinned. "I made a trip."

"Then make one home," Joe sighed. "They must be waiting for you."

"I know you have a mate of your own, so let him deal with you," Sam added. "Joe and I have plans for tonight that don’t include an audience."

"Christ, you’d thing you two were a couple of normals or something..." Lucas shook his head and set the gallon of milk on the floor and shifted, picking it up between his teeth. As a snow leopard, he padded to the door and stood there, looking pointedly over his shoulder.

Equally pointedly, Sam walked over and opened the door, holding it for him. "Please, feel free not to come back."

"You know he only does it to piss you off," Joe pointed out after Lucas had gone.

Sam smiled wickedly. "Which is why you’ll never tell him that it doesn’t really, right?"

Joe grinned. "Would I do that to you?"

"He’s cute when he’s trying to annoy me," Sam chuckled.

"And if you tell _him_ that, I’m going to get stuck in the middle of an alpha battle, so don’t, okay?"

"I’ll make sure you’re out of town the day I decide to tell him that he’s cute. Of course, he’ll really need to get on my nerves before I do that."

Joe groaned and rested his head on Sam’s shoulder. "Do me a favor and make sure I’m gone for a month, okay?"

Sam burst into laughter. "Promise. Though I might end up joining you when I get tired of him hissing and spitting." He grinned mischievously. "Just wait till he sees what I got him for Christmas. Think he’ll like the catnip?"

Joe groaned again. "I’m sure it’ll go well with the batch Rowan has for him."

"This family really is nuts!" Sam shook his head in amusement.

"Which is why you fit in fine. Now how about we eat some of those cookies and you find me a pillow to sit on?"


End file.
